A couple of 131 Abarth.....

hello everyone,my name is Alessandro and i'm following this forum from about three years,and now i think it's time to show you something....

When i was a teenager the Fiat 131 Abarth was at the end of career...but for me it was one of the most beautiful rally cars,at that time....
And in some local races,i've had the pleasure of seeing her in action.

Having built (bad...)a couple of 1/24 Esci 131 nearly 30 years ago,i decided it was time to make them more presentable....:naughty:
So,with the help of two nice decals sheets,i've started the job....
I hope it will be interesting for someone who loved this car,and maybe to have a kit like this on the shelf.
Often assemble a kit becomes a challenge,we know.....but I'm from Italy,and the real challenge,for me,it's to write in english.....
So please,be patient,and forgive my many mistakes....:rolleyes:



these are the two cars i want to build.....
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/9702/47464554.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/75/82costasmeraldazanussi.jpg

(the pictures are not mine..Google helped me.... )

...and these are the two wrecks...an old Alitalia and Fiat France Esci kits.
First,I start with the MS version....Montecarlo rally 1981,with Reji decals
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5197/3old1312000x1300.jpg
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/4061/4kitedec2000x1300.jpg

the Esci kit is not bad,but there's a lot of mistakes,here and there...but we'll see them later,case by case....
For first,the floor pan tunnel isn't correct,especially in the area of the shift lever...
So i've removed a bit of plastic....and reshaped with plasticard.
I've added the small plate which was the basis of the lever...
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4218/5pianaleorigcopia.jpg
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7946/6tagltunnelccopia.jpg
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3411/7tunnelnewcopia.jpg
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/1456/8newtunnelcopia.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7405/9placchettacambiocopia.jpg

then I changed the back, which in the kit leaves visible the heads of the shock absorbers.
they were not visible in the real car...there were only two bulges on the bulkhead,who i've done with plastic and a bit of putty.
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/1632/10sediammortcopia.jpg
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/8036/11chiusurasedicopia.jpg
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/963/12stuccocappellcopia.jpg

also the rollcage it's not perfect...it needs some little modifications....

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/5287/14provarollcopia.jpg
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/237/13provaroll2copia.jpg
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/9095/15rollneroslcopia.jpg

Welcome to AF Aless !

Nice subject and modifications :thumbsup:

Robi

I'll track your projet: i have one on the shelf!!

:grinno: will watch this, love these cars:)
is it the revell version? i always wanted to do the 1/20 tamiya one, hard to find at the right price now:frown:

Good start to an interesting project! I have one of those on the bench so will follow!

Thank you very much for the support...:wink:

for Wolla: they're two old Esci kits(the same of Revell and Italeri,who are reissues)

for Robi: thanks Robi for the kind welcome!:wink:

Luckily i managed to get decent pictures.......:thumbsup:

Very well done Ale!
Welcome to AF.
Ed

Welcome on board Patacca! Good start and nice subject

Ciao Aless. ti segurò con molto piacere ciao jerod

Hi Alessandro,welcome,i'll follow you with a lot interest

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

Hello Ales I had to write in English but it was a long time since you senrivo and so I wrote pulse.

Ben arrived I wrote just does not make sense cmq follow your work.:):)

Hi guys,some little update....
the fire extinguisher in the kit it's "old style"(the red one),i prefer to replace it with a bigger one(in resin),found in the "spare box"...
http://imageshack.us/a/img6/3853/16estintoricopia.jpg

..and while I was there,I did one for the Totip version...(below,light red)...
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/4466/17estintnewcopia.jpg

also the gear lever has been modified,cut out the steering column and added levers for turn lights....
http://imageshack.us/a/img255/7982/18levecambiocopia.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img338/2182/19piantonesterzoorigcop.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img441/1678/20piantonemodifcopia.jpg

the hand brake is horrible...so i added little details...
http://imageshack.us/a/img39/1523/21partifrenoamanocopia.jpg

the driver's footrest it's casted with the pedals....terrible...!
i made a new one with aluminium foil....
http://imageshack.us/a/img222/2212/22pedalieraorigcopia.jpg

http://imageshack.http://imageshack.us/a/img254/910/24poggiapuderprepcopia.jpg (http://imageshack.)
http://imageshack.us/a/img542/4461/25poggiapx2copia.jpg

I made the same thing with the co-driver's footrest.
two different plates,one for MS ,one for Totip version........
http://imageshack.us/a/img155/1554/26creazpedanecopia.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img821/6616/27pedaneprontecopia.jpg

i added a helmet holder,made with plasticard,painted in grey,and then over-painted with matt varnish(the photo shows it before the matt finish...)
http://imageshack.us/a/img571/7844/28portacascoplastcopia.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img571/5290/29vernportacascocopia.jpg

so I started to set up the floor pan of the car:
pedals
footrests
hand brake with piping
helmet holder
fire extinguisher
http://imageshack.us/a/img155/4899/31frenoestokincopia.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/7640/30cavifrenoestcopia.jpg

the way is still long,I know....:rolleyes:

Coming together nicely, good detail.